Once More, With Feeling
by Solid Spade
Summary: Dropped into a familiar yet different world, the story follows our protagonist struggling to get his footing in the world of Minecraft. For our nerdy protagonist, this shouldn't be too much of an issue... right?
1. Prologue

A sigh of relief escaped my mouth as I stepped off the bus.

"_Almost home…"_ I thought, and after walking through the same roadways for the past few years my worn-out workboots instinctively plodded along the sidewalk through the hazy January snow. The past few years had been a blur: go to work, go to school, eat, and then sleep (not always in that order). The same routine, the same mundane sidewalk, the same… empty apartment.

"_Finally..._" I thought as I fished my worn out keyring, and jammed the right one into the lock. "I'm home." I said aloud to no one in particular, and heaved a sigh into the cold air of my apartment. I was by no means rich, quite the opposite actually as my apartment showed it. It was no more than a bare bones living room with a single table and a cramped kitchen with a bedroom in the back. To make ends meet, I usually bounce around from odd job to odd job; a waiter gig here, a construction job there (anything that pays, really). I had hoped getting a degree would help, that maybe I wouldn't have to live off of cheap discount meals from fast-food joints for the rest of my life, that maybe I could make a name for myself and make my parents proud… if they were still here.

"Sorry I'm late again…" I said as I took my shoes off and walked up to a family portrait, kneeling down in front of it. "Waiting tables is as exhausting as you've always said…" I said as I took a packet of freshly bought incense out of a grocery bag I'd been carrying throughout the bus ride home.

"I know, I know: _The same one again?_" I said mimicking a sarcastic tone. "_Can't you get something else next time?"_ I popped open the packet, and reached into a nearby drawer for a lighter.

"Well… if you wanted something different, you should've told me your other favorites. Maybe I wouldn't be stuck buying these expensive **DAMN** things for…" I stopped in my tracks. The lighter was out of fluid… again. "Ah… sorry, I forgot to buy more lighter fluid… but I've got an idea... I'll be right back!" I ran over to my old stovetop and turned the knob, praying to my electricity bill that it would light. To my surprise, the stovetop flickered to life with a subtle orange flame barely alight, but serviceable. I held the incense over the stove top, and waited as the subtle smell of lavender filled the room. Instantly, the smell brought back fond memories: of times playing in bright lavender fields from a day that seemed so far away from now, but the nostalgia faded quickly as I ran the now-lit incense back to the family portrait, and placed it into a bowl directly in front of the painting, now overflowing from the ashes of previous incense burnings.

"Sorry about earlier, I guess I'm just a lot more screwed up than usual… but I got it." I said to the makeshift ceremonial altar in front of me. It wasn't much: just a standard plywood table with 2 drawers underneath. One was almost empty, save for the now fluidless lighter. The other was filled with letters and keepsakes that were almost indecipherable. In the middle, the portrait acted as the set piece for the poor altar. "I know I keep promising that I would make this place better, and I will. It's just… tips don't exactly pay a six-figure salary." I said, jokingly complaining for the ump-teenth time this day. "I wish I could take time out of my day and the money out of my pay to make this better, it's just… between work and studying to get a degree, I can't afford to. I'm sorry I'm such a prick…"

_You're damn right, prick!_ I imagined the portrait saying. _I wouldn't use this table even if it were the last one on Earth!_

"Yeah, yeah… insult me all you want," I said to myself, "but one day things will all get better, I promise. No more discount furniture and empty lighters… someday, I'll upgrade to an actual house, with stuff I'll program myself!"

_You? Program what? The only thing you seem to be doing lately is 'Programming' that kid's game of yours. Don't make a promise if you know you can't keep it! _ I imagine the portrait retorting.

"It's called Minecraft, and it is not a kid's game!" I retorted reflexively in response. "It...helps me relax, okay? Makes me forget about the world for a minute."

_If you like it so much, why don't you just live in it?_

"Hah… maybe. At least in there I could build you a better altar." I said, delivering the final punchline to an imaginary conversation. God I need to get out more.

I made one last silent prayer, and made my way over to the bedroom, falling face first into my bed with a soft *thud*. Somehow, the imaginary conversation from before (with myself) kept ringing in my head.

_If you like it so much, why don't you just live in it?_

"Hah… I wish I could live in a world like Minecraft." I sighed as I lazily looked to the side of my bed where I left my laptop. I opened it with one hand, typed in the password, and stared at the still open Twitch launcher. I probably forgot to turn it off… whatever. I pressed the play button on "All The Mods 3," and nuzzled my head farther into the sheets. Maybe I can get a quick nap in while this thing loads? I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, but the conversation drilled itself back into my brain like a bad fanfic. Slowly, the words kept creeping back.

_If you like it so much, why don't you just live in it?_

"Because I can't, now leave me alone."

_If you like it so much, why don't you just live in it?_

"Because technology doesn't work like that, now leave me alone"

_If you like it so much, why don't you just live in it?_

"I would if I could, now let me sleep dammit."

"_What if you could?"_

"I swear, sometimes when you want to sleep the most, you just… wait, what?"

I jerked my head up off the bed, and scanned my room to find the drab bedroom all around me empty. I swear just now that last line wasn't in my head… maybe I'm just hearing things? I look over to my laptop to see ATM3 still loading up. It was about halfway through, so maybe it was just a dream? Well whatever, back to sleep.


	2. Down the Rabbit Hole

Normally I never really have dreams. The last one I remember was from a long time ago when I was 12 about a weird half-frog half-human thing, but this dream was… different, more vivid. In this dream, I was standing in a field of wheat and lavender gently shedding their grains and petals that scattered in the flowing winds.

As the scents and sounds hit my senses, I raised a hand to block the sunlight glaring overhead.

Maybe this is what it's like to be a lucid dreamer? I thought to myself, but the appreciation of my newfound talent was cut short as I felt a tinge on the back of my neck coming from somewhere. I scanned the fields and found nothing, but I still felt something. It's like that feeling of someone staring at you while you aren't looking.

A predator in the fields maybe? I glanced around once more, trying to find a hint of movement anywhere in the low grassy plains to no avail. Just as I was about to give up, there was something that caught my eye: an out of place blue color among the purple and yellow fields here. I trudged forward through the fields, crunching the underbrush beneath my feet, and in a matter of minutes a new flower came into view: a blue lotus.

Were you the one looking at me, little guy? I thought. Once upon a time, I used to name a bunch of pets I tamed in minecraft worlds after flowers, and after some internet searching I came upon the blue lotus. Apparently it's early uses were in Ancient Egypt where it grew along the Nile. It was commonly used as a recreational drug, similar to marijuana.

Funny it would be here, it's been on my bucket list to try it one day. Taking it in a dream counts, right? I wondered as I got closer to the flower of intrigue. I carefully picked the blue flower from its green base, and with a soft pluck the flower was in my grasp. D-Do I… eat it? As you can tell, my experience with "recreational medicine" is near nonexistent.

I raised the flower to my mouth, all the while wondering how this could possibly go wrong. Screw it. Down the rabbit hole I go! I unceremoniously shoved the thing in my mouth, and chewed the fibrous mesh into a pulp. With a gulp the flower in question was nowhere to be seen. Huh… nothing's happening. I thought. I looked down at both my calloused hands in mild disappointment until they started changing shape. Oh shit.

I immediately thought as the whole field around me began morphing into a deep crimson red field. The once bright purples of lavender and gentle yellows of grain morphed into a deep shade of red spider lilies. A pounding headache gave me no time to marvel at the sight, as I tried massaging my temples to ease the pain. Through the pounding thump of my temples, I swear I could hear a faint laugh in the wind as my knees gave out from under me.

* * *

After who knows how long, I woke with a gasp that would make even smeagol wonder if I was okay. The headache was still there, so that was great. Lucid dreaming kinda sucks. I sat up from the still present underbrush. Am I still dreaming? I looked forward to see a plethora of flora and fauna blocking my view, giving way for a faint light source from further beyond poking between the leaves.

With nothing left to do, I began making my way to the light source, pushing aside the overgrown bushes. I glanced overhead to get some semblance of where I was, but it was too dark to see anything in great detail except a few stars and the… square moon?

Huh… looks just like the minecraft moon. Definitely still dreaming. I pushed ahead with reckless abandon, desperate to find the light source. With one last push, I finally realized what this weird acid trip conjured up for me. Ahead lay the signature bonus chest from minecraft surrounded by 4 torches, looking a little small in comparison to the vast grassy plains surrounding it.

Have I played minecraft so much that I could play it in my sleep? I thought walking over to the loot. I marvelled at the sound of creaking wood as the chest was pried open. Heh. Even the sounds in my dreams are awesome. Maybe the whole 'lucid dreaming' thing isn't so bad.

Examining the chest contents revealed some basic minecraft utilities: some wood, planks, sticks, a wood pickaxe, some pristine red apples, and scraps of bread. But what drew my attention most were 2 things. The first was a book with the title 'akashic tome' in fancy writing that seemed to shift everytime I look at the cover.

Guess I just can't go back to playing vanilla minecraft anymore huh? The second item of interest was a backpack with a note left on it in a familiar typed out Times New Roman font that read

"It was all very well to say 'Drink me' but the wise little Alice was not going to do that in a hurry. 'No, I'll look first' she said, 'and see whether it's marked poison or not." -Admin.

It seems my subconscious is understandably judgemental, but what's with this 'Admin' signature? And can I wake up anytime soon? I tried pinching myself on the shoulder to try to wake myself up.

Ow... Ow... Ow... Okay any day now… ow. I am dreaming, right? Just gotta pinch extra hard, and I could wake up. That's how this works, right? I geared myself for the pinch of a lifetime, cracking my knuckles over the sound of a low groan.

Just as I was about to go in for the pinch, soft footsteps echoed from behind. Instead of the light pain of fingernails, a hot searing pain worked its way into my shoulder as I screamed out in pain.

"AAAAAAHHHH" I looked to my side to see the one and only minecraft zombie now helping himself to a cut of my shoulder. I hastily reached a free hand out towards the chest to grab anything that could help me.

Meanwhile, the zombie bit down harder on my shoulder, tearing a sizable chunk out of it, and hungrily scarfing it down. Needless to say, it did not feel pleasant as I cursed every profanity the dictionary feeling the adrenaline kick in.

"AGH, YOU SON OF A-" I felt my hand finally gained purchase on a tool, "-BITCH!" With desperation, I put all of my weight into a swing aimed at the assailant's head, wanting nothing more than to bash this bastard's brains in. What I later realized to be the pickaxe from earlier swung true, luckily finding purchase on the happily munching zombie.

The loud crack of its skull could be heard as the pickaxe buried itself deep into the zombie's skull, making it fall backwards. "Ha! Take a bite out of that, you sumbitch…" Just as I was relishing in my small victory, the lifeless corpse seemed to twitch back to life.

"...No fucking way…" I gazed with my jaw dropped to see the zombie, still with a bit of my shoulder in its mouth, get back up on to its feet. It turned to face me, giving me a full view of the carnage. The wooden pickaxe had splintered entering its skull, breaking the tip of the pickaxe into two pieces that continued further downward, and jutted out from two opposite sides of its jaw.

The handle hung loosely across the side of its face like some fucked up Christmas ornament, still dripping with fresh blood. With something resembling vengeance in its eyes, the zombie started shuffling its way toward me.

My feet were shaking as I took in the horrifying sight. Although it was similar to the minecraft zombie, it was slightly different. Its movements were more lively, its arms and legs were bent at the elbows and knees instead of the stiff "arms-always-out" minecraft zombie, and it held a similar blocky body structure to the original making it seem bulkier.

It was fast too. Instead of shambling over, the zombie sprinted a short distance to get close to me, making me stumble over the chest barely avoiding the swipe it took at me with its claws, and knocking me on to my ass.

"Arrrrggggghhhh, rrrghhhh." The zombie made a disgusting back-of-the-throat gurgle as some of the pickaxe began to wiggle back and forth from the vibrations of its feeble attempts at communication.

Hlegh. Oh god, I wanna puke... I shook off the fear, grabbed the backpack with everything in the chest, and bolted as fast as I could in the opposite direction of the zombie, clutching the wound on my left shoulder as I left a trail of blood on my footsteps.

Just as I thought I was safe, I heard a familiar sound from RLcraft that haunts me to this day: the sound of an arrow being drawn. I felt another sharp pain across my right leg, making me stumble forward on to the ground. Before I looked down, I already knew an arrow had embedded itself into my shin. Another streak of red blood trickled its way down my leg as I struggled to stand on my one good leg.

I glanced over my shoulder to see a skeleton reaching over its shoulder to draw another arrow. I didn't spare it a second glance as I saw more figures sprinting at me from a distance. Namely, one with a very familiar splintered wooden pickaxe still dangling loosely from the side of its head. I took off running, or stumbling rather, further into the plains, desperately seeking shelter. With this busted up leg, I couldn't outrun any of the mobs. I had to find something, anything to hide in, and my prayers were answered… sort of.

I stumbled forward, and almost fell headfirst into a dark chasm sprawled in the dirt. A few loose bits of rock tumbled forward into the darkness, offering no sign of ever hitting the bottom. A ravine! I looked down to see nothing but rock below. I searched with fervor trying to find anything I could land on, and survive in the short amount of time I had.

I looked back at the hoard, and back again at the ravine thinking of doing something REALLY stupid. I tensed up, debating internally on whether dying to a horde of undead would be worse than falling into an abyss, and after a quick Father, Son, Holy Spirit gesture with my right hand, I made up my mind. As I geared up to jump in, I realized I was a little late as I heard yet another sound behind me.

"SSssSSsSSs" Oh shit.

I gathered whatever strength I had into my legs, and leapt into the ravine, not in time to avoid the worst of the resulting explosion. The blast echoed throughout the plains, ringing in my ears with deafening white noise as the shockwave carried me further outwards, slamming me into the opposite side of the ravine across the solid rock. I let out a pathetic whimper as the wind was knocked out of my lungs. "Ugh…" I could feel the blood rising in the back of my throat as I fell down into the depths.

Struggling to stay conscious, I forced my eyes to stay focused as I plummeted downwards, somehow catching sight of a small outcrop of rock along the edge of my side of the ravine. It was just big enough to fit a person my size. In a last ditch effort, I reached out my hand attached to the one good shoulder, and dug my fingers into the hard rock scraping my fingertips along the chasm walls like nails on a chalkboard.

I could feel the various bits of shrapnel and sharp gravel biting into my palms, but I clutched with nothing more than the animalistic desire to stay alive. After what felt like an eternity, I came to a stop a few meters below the outcrop, feeling my hand clutch desperately to a sharp rock. "Okay… don't *cough*... don't forget… your 3... *wheeze* ... points of… contact ..." I raised the good and busted up leg alike to foot holds in the rock, and tried raising my other arm to grab a handhold.

The pain was immeasurable. Just hanging there on the side of the rock took every ounce of energy. Climbing was even harder. So many times, I almost let go. But I clenched my teeth, and screamed the loudest I ever had into the cold, dark abyss. "AGH, Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck..."

I breathed quick, short, and ragged breaths. "I… am not… dying here" I raised both hands and feet, and screamed my way upwards. Slowly, and painstakingly I clung for dear life.

Each time I went up a block, I screamed twice as loud as the previous, plodding one foot on top of the other. One hand over the next. After what seemed like hours, I finally reached a hand to the flat top of the outcrop. "C'mon... C'mon… almost… there…"

I heaved like I never had in my whole life. Just as I was about to get a foot on to the outcrop, another pain tugged at my leg. The arrow embedded in my leg snagged a piece of rock, and caught my foot at an awkward angle.

My hands were already occupied, and I couldn't let go. "Oh this is going to hurt…" I prepared for the final push as I channelled all of the adrenaline I had left into one final pull forwards. The arrow sank even deeper into my shin, penetrating further into the muscle well into the thigh. I closed my eyes, and didn't want to see it as I miraculously made it to the top of the outcrop, sprawled out like a rabid dog foaming at the mouth.

"Haha… Hahaha… Hahahaha!" I burst out laughing as I looked up at the moon directly overhead. I could feel the adrenaline wearing off, and my consciousness fading. So with one last look upwards, I flipped off the gods above as I spat a thick loogie of blood and mucus further into the chasm. "Hah...hah… it's gonna… *spit* take a lot more than that…" I said to no one, feeling my arm fall to my side, and a black veil overtake my eyes.


	3. Same World, Different Routine

I LIVE. Back with another chapter, so enjoy! :)

(Late? I'm not late, you're late)

* * *

The faint sound of an emergency siren stirred my senses, along with some voices.

"_How much longer until we get to the nearest emergency room?!"_ A voice shouted.

"_The closest one isn't for miles! The fastest I can get us there is in an hour!"_ Another voice replied.

"_These guys don't have an hour! That crash did a number on them, and they're barely alive now!"_ The first voice shouted.

"_Then just pray the IV drip keeps them stable because I can't make this ambulance go any faster!" _The second voice replied.

"_Shit, the father is going into cardiac! The mother isn't faring any better either…_" The first voice observed.

"_Then just focus on the kid! He's the only one that isn't a bloody pulp at the moment!"_ The second voice shouted.

* * *

The blurry image of a starry night sky slowly faded into my view as the distant memory passed. That same old vision of a dreamy road trip turned into a nightmare. The only difference between then and now is that I don't have medical treatment.

_Ow ow ow ow_. I begrudgingly tried lifting my head off of the cold stone floor to no avail.

_I MIGHT just be injured…_ I thought to myself painfully. Giving myself a once over prodding and poking any would-be injuries, sharp pains rang in many bruised areas.

_Well, at least I still have some of my ribs left… _I thought as I low-crawled to the ravine's stonewall, the many loose bits of rock and gravel reminding me that I'm in no condition to be moving.

After what feels like hours, my hand finally brushed along the ravine wall. I looped my hand through my backpack handles and begrudgingly plopped myself along the wall in a moment of respite. The starry night sky still shined above the ravine, barely lighting up the ravine enough to see.

_Mom… Dad… I wish you were here right now… _I closed my eyes at the waxing moon staring down from above taking deep breaths to try and calm my pulse, but it would seem my stomach had other ideas. With all the energy it could muster, a loud *grumble* erupted from my stomach complaining at the lack of food.

_Guess now is a good time for lunch as any…_ I reached my arm, bent in a way that it should NOT be, into my backpack for the apples and bread. With a little effort and some fumbling, the food of interest came tumbling out of the pack along with a book. _Isn't this the akashic tome?_

With my good hand, I reached over for the book and took a scrap of bread in my mangled offhand, biting into its stale interior as I flipped the book open.

"System has detected a new user." A calm woman's voice stated matter-of-factly.

"What is your name?" The voice from the book asked.

_This... wasn't in modded minecraft. I'll just give it my Minecraft username and see what happens afterwards._

"My name is... Patience." I said to the book, feeling kind of embarrassed saying my username aloud.

"New User has been registered as… Patience. Is this correct?" The book replied.

"Yeah…" I replied like everyone else signing a EULA agreement.

"A new name has been assigned. Thank you, Patience. Your account data is now being transferred…" The voice replied.

"The who in the what now?" I began to panic a little. What is this thing that sounds like a mix of Siri and Cortana doing?

"Data has been transferred. You are now registered within the database and have been assigned appropriate access levels. Thank you for your patience." The voice responded.

_Wait, was that a pun…? _I thought as I began to flip through the pages, and biting another chunk out of the bread.

_Let's see here… there's an index… a collection of all the mod books… and some other things?_

While skimming through, it seems that - on top all the regular mod books - there were some other functions with the akashic tome. It seems there's some kind of voice-to-text search bar section on one of these pages as well as a "History" tab.

Upon opening the history tab, it gave some information on Minecraft as well as a log of what I've been doing while I was here.

_It even comes with timestamps! _I thought as I skimmed for the timestamp on when I fell unconscious to when I woke up, and it seems to have only been a few hours.

_I guess days and nights don't last just 20 minutes here…_ I thought. Upon skimming further, there were some other tabs that were grayed out.

"Access to that information is denied. Your access level is not high enough to obtain that information." The voice stated matter of factly.

"Huh? How do I get access?" I tried asking the book.

"Higher access levels can be granted with approval from an administrator." The voice - a bit surprisingly - responded.

_Wait, an admin…?_

"Who is this administrator?" I tried asking the book.

"Access to that information is denied. Your access level is not high enough to obtain that information." The voice responded.

_Figures… is this the same person who left me the starter chest, I wonder?_ I pondered as I began looking through the pages I had access to. Namely, there was one with my information on it, and it was surprisingly detailed. It had my blood type, my birthday, and even my real name…

"What… are you?" I asked the book.

"I am the Akashic Records, a database for storing information." The book replied.

"Do you have a nickname that won't make me wear my tongue out?" I asked jokingly.

"..." The voice seemed to hesitate for a moment before responding.

"Do I… need a nickname?" The voice responded.

"Of course, I'm not going to say _Akashic Records_ every single time I talk to you." I retorted.

"..." The voice seemed to hesitate again.  
"...A nickname can be assigned, if you choose." The voice responded.

"Then I'll do that. From now on, your nickname will be…" I thought for a moment before coming up with a name.

"...Lotus. It'll be a pleasure working with you, partner." I said to Lotus with a small smile before I was reminded of my current injuries.

"_Cough... cough… _Lotus do you know how I can treat these injuries?" I asked my newfound companion.

"With your current equipment, it is suggested that you increase your caloric intake." Lotus responded.

"So I should just eat more? What's that going to do?" I asked.

"Correct. A higher caloric intake will result in faster bodily functions in this instance." Lotus responded.

"Just like Minecraft huh… so will I just regenerate any wound if I keep eating?" I asked.

"Incorrect. This instance accelerates ticks, or time. When calories are consumed, they are used as an energy source for you to internalize this tick acceleration. This means that you will recover from any surface level injury, but will not recover lost blood, broken bones, or severed limbs. Serious injuries will require more advanced treatment." Lotus helpfully replied.

"Huh… that sounds… painful. Wait, so time is, in a sense, accelerated here? Then why is it still dark outside?" I thought, as Minecraft nights only last 10 minutes.

"To accelerate data of an instance - in this case time - would put an enormous strain on the system. Therefore, it is only done manually with approval." Lotus responded.

"Approval from who?" I asked.

"Access to that information is denied. Your access level is not high enough to obtain that information." Lotus said, shutting me down.

"Of course it is… well excuse me as I gorge on bread and apples." I said about to close the book when one last question popped into my mind.

"Lotus… am I… alone here?" I asked with apprehension.

"Most certainly not." Lotus responded instantly.

"Who else is here?" I asked nervously.

"Access to that information is denied. Your access level-"

"ALRIGHT, I GET IT." I shouted slamming the book closed, and angrily eating away at a traveller's lunch.

* * *

After some time, it seems that Lotus was telling the truth. The battered and bruised limbs and ribs ended up re-setting after a couple loaves of bread. Luckily, those last 2 pieces were enough to get me on my feet.

"Alright… good as new. What's a few muscle pains and liters of blood compared to what just happened? I've been bitten, scratched, exploded, and sent hurling into a deep fuck-all hole."

I knelt on my little outcrop as I took a moment to take it all in. Right now, my priority is surviving, and I'm going to need lots of supplies like food, tools, weapons, raw materials, and above all a shelter. To make matters worse, there may be other people here, as if the flesh eating zombies, sharpshooter skeletons, and suicide-bombing creepers weren't enough. Will they be people like me or will they be hostile? Will I be able to talk with someone else, or will I have a creepy AI in a book with questionable motives follow me forever? Lastly... will I ever be able to get back home or am I just stuck here?

_Sigh_… An exasperated breath escaped my lips as I saw something of note down in the ravine. Among the dull shades of grey stone and occasional specks of different colored rocks, there was a distinct outline of something humanoid among the cavern, and after some effort climbing down I saw it: a zombie corpse with a familiar jagged wooden pickaxe still embedded in its skull.

_It's you…!_ I thought as I got closer

_Did you get knocked down here with me in the explosion…? Well, I must thank you… this pickaxe might just be my ticket out of here._ I thought reaching for the pickaxe in its head, but I was a bit too careless.

"Arrrrggggghhhh…?" An inquisitive groan escaped the seemingly lifeless corpse as it rose to life or rather undeath.

_Oh shit…_

"Rggghhhhhh…!" It groaned while reaching its arms out towards me, but it failed to stand up.

_Huh… it's a lot less threatening like this… maybe it broke its legs falling down after the explosion...?_ I thought, eyeing the idle threat.

_Well if it's like this… I could wrench the pickaxe right out of its head…_

Preparing for the worst, I steeled myself as I rushed for the handle in the zombie's head.

"Arrrrggggghhhh...!" It seemed to notice my intentions and began panicking as it scrambled away from me. Despite its complaints, I seized the wooden handle and pulled as hard as I could.

"ARRRRGGGGGHHHH!" A sick _crack_ could be heard as the handle was wrench free from its makeshift resting place, and the faint outline of a pickaxe head could be seen from one side of the skull as it fell down. Moments later, a _sizzling_ noise escaped from the corpse along with some white smoke that soon vanished along with the body, leaving only a piece of rotten flesh behind.

"Sorry pal... but I need this more than you do." I said thinking back on its surprise attack on me a couple of hours ago.

_If all the other mobs are as strong as this one, then I'm going to need to move quickly, mine my way out of this god-forsaken hole, and start making some weapons_. I thought while looking for a suitable digging spot to go upwards.

_I hope veinminer and T-Construct are in here..._


	4. First Contact

_I BLAME COVID HAVE A CHAPTER_

* * *

_Meanwhile, outside of the ravine…_

The skeleton peered into the darkness below for any signs of the wounded target, but saw nothing below. Assuming the worst, he left his presumed-kill, and marched East back towards his station ready to make a report on today's event.

After trekking around the ravine past a village surrounded by trees, the place of interest came into view: a small settlement surrounded by stone walls with archers' towers on all 4 corners and a sturdy wooden gate blocking the front.

Two sentries stood beside the gate, one gnashing its teeth for a callsign as they both raised their bows at the lone skeleton in anticipation. The skeleton answered with the countersign in kind, causing them to lower the bows. Shortly after, a sentry along the top of the walls opened the gate, letting the skeleton in. Once inside, the skeleton looked around the many tents within the walls for his superior's tent and quickly found it in the center of the settlement.

After moving to the tent while mentally preparing himself for his report the skeleton stepped inside, and stood at parade rest near the entrance until a voice signalled to stop.

"At ease." The skeleton shifted his feet, putting his hands to his sides. Before him was his superior sitting at a table digging through a mountain of maps and charts with a quite literal feathered quill in hand.

"Number and purpose." The voice demanded, not sparing a glance in their direction opting to focus on the rough papyrus before them. The skeleton quickly read off his service ID, and tacked on only 2 words at the end: daily report.

"Hm… a patrol member?" The feather stopped writing.

"In my tent…?" His superior stood up from their seat, put down the feather, and leaned forward over the table with palpable anger visible on their face.

"Why?" The one word said slowly, questioningly, and angrily all at once. The skeleton knew that if he were to say the wrong thing here, he would be punished severely - maybe sent back to the mines or something. Luckily, the skeleton was prepared for this, and responded with one word that would save his non-existent skin: Abnormality.

The commander's scowl softened somewhat, and she straightened her posture, revealing her dog tags around her neck: Sarah Kelly... the Sergeant of the Skirmisher's Battalion.

"Well? Go on then." She sat back in her chair, motioning for me to take the empty seat opposite to her side of the desk.

"What's this 'abnormality' you speak of that you think is so worth telling me **all** about?" She asked, eyeing him up and down with a scarred eye.

* * *

_Back at the Ravine…_

"I'M... FREE!" I shouted with joy as my hand burst through the final layer of dirt separating me from the surface.

_Luckily the pick lasted long enough to get me past all the stone_. The explosion-weakened pickaxe broke on the last block of stone separating me from dirt. It layed in my hands as nothing more than a stick now that helped shovel through the dirt.

_Thank you, my once loyal companion… your sacrifice will not be in vain._ I stashed the pickaxe-turned-stick into my bag and took in the wildland around me. I didn't get a good look at it before- with the whole threat of death looming over me and everything- so it seemed oddly serene now.

Thick trees that grew sturdier at the base plumed the fields some distance away from the ravine. Next to it was a river about 15-ish meters between the river banks flowing further into the forest of aforementioned trees. The rushing waters constantly glided across the rock, chipping most of them into naturally-unique shapes.

_Water…_ I rushed over to the river bank, sat my gear down next to me, and immediately started to cup some water into my hands for a refreshing drink. Hours of manual labor will dehydrate a guy, afterall.

_My first priority should be getting something to hold some water…_ I thought as the number of sips had long since passed double digits.

_Next would probably be food and shelter…_ I made up my mind, and decided to follow the river downstream into the forest, as readily accessible water was quintessential for survival. Just as I was slinging my pack over my shoulder ready to leave, a few rabbits came bounding from the fields of grass in a hurry. A couple of birds scattered nearby as well, heading in the same direction.

A gut feeling of mine screamed at me to hide somewhere. I looked back at the ravine for a second before thinking better of it, as I didn't want to get trapped there again. I looked around the plains, but couldn't find thick enough foliage to reliably conceal me. I could beeline it towards the forest, but the nearest tree was quite a ways away.

_The ravine is out… the plains are out… the forest is out… then that just leaves…_ I looked at the river in front of me.

_*sigh* I needed a bath anyways, I guess..._ I took a deep breath, and waded into the river water, taking a handhold on some nearby rocks to stabilize me. The rapids were constantly trying to push my body downstream, but I held on to see the danger. In the direction of the plains, there was a literal skeleton crew of about 7 of them in leather armor making their way towards the ravine.

_I'm guessing they're looking for me… maybe they're friendly?_ I thought optimistically. I continued watching from the stream as they began setting off TNT near the top of the ravine, and dropping it down below.

_...Or maybe they're not. _I observed as the ground quaked from the explosions, the vibrations sending more violent waves downstream threatening to take me with them.

_Shit… I can't get out of the river. If they spot me, they'll turn me into a glorified pincushion. I just have to hold here, and wait for them to leave._

Almost on cue, a loud explosion rang out from the ravine and caused a giant ripple throughout the river. I looked upstream in time to see a particularly big current barreling straight through the river banks… right at me.

_Oh shit…_ I took a deep breath, and submerged myself underwater. While looking up to the water's surface, I prepared for the worst as the force of the currents began to tug at my body like a ragdoll, sweeping me along with it.

I resurfaced to hear the roaring rapids of the river and the faint sound of explosions as the river took me further and further downstream, giving an occasional lovetap in the form of jagged rocks and other stray debris.

Further and further the tides pulled. For most of the impromptu ride, there was nothing except the sound of running water and rocks coming loose from erosion, but somewhere down the river there were some different sounds.

They're hard to describe, but somewhere along the river there was a sound similar to a person grinding their teeth. Whatever the source was coming from sounded like it was communicating with a series of rattling and loud clicks.

_Are they tracking me…? _While I couldn't see beyond the river bank, I feared the worst.

_Not like I could do much here. I'm a sitting duck in these waters._ _Just gotta pray to Lady Luck…_

Almost on cue, I looked some meters ahead to see the shear drop off of a waterfall.

_God dammit… _I quickly scanned around for something to help.

_The river banks were too steep to climb… there were no splits in the river…_ _is there any way I could survive this…?_ I scanned like my life depended on it - because it did - to find a single vine growing down from a nearby tree above the river bank… right next to the waterfall's crest.

_I'm barreling towards a waterfall at breakneck pace, and my only way out is a flimsy vine that'll probably do nothing… fuck it!_ I braced myself to leap up from the waters near the edge of the waterfall.

As soon as I got to the water's edge, I pushed my legs in the water and reached out toward my thin-green savior. Gripping on with both hands for dear life, the full view of the drop came into view. It was easily a little more than 100 meters straight down into a reservoir.

It also didn't help that the vine still had some length hidden in the tree that came loose as soon as I latched on, giving way for a brief free fall.

"OH SHIIIIIIIIIT" I screamed as I plummeted. About halfway down the waterfall - some 60-ish meters - the vine went taught as it reached the end of its length. My full weight pressed down on the frail vine, snapping it three-quarters of the way down as expected.

I looked up as the whiplash turned my body skyward, just in time to make eye contact with a figure near the waterfall. The details of their face were too far to make out, but the signal the eyes sent was clear: contempt. They stared me down as I curled up into a ball to protect my head, and crashed into the icy cold water.


End file.
